"They were lethargic, they were slow" - Steve McManaman rips into Liverpool after 1-0 loss to Bournemouth

Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman was critical of his former team's performance in their 1-0 league loss to AFC Bournemouth on March 11.

The Reds came into this game on the back of a memorable 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Anfield on March 5. However, they couldn't manage to get anything against a resilient Bournemouth side at the Vitality Stadium.

Philip Billng's 28th-minute goal was the difference as Mohamed Salah's missed penalty 21 minutes from time proved costly for the Reds. Liverpool had 70% possession and took 15 shots - three times more than what the hosts managed.

Six of them were on target, but the Reds seemed to have no luck in front of goal. Speaking on BT Sport (h/t Mirror), McManaman said after the game:

"I thought they were terrible today. Contrasting fortunes for both teams - everything Liverpool did well last week when they won at Anfield was completely the opposite today. They were lethargic, they were slow, they moved the ball sideways so many times, there was no urgency to go forward [sic.].

He added:

"Defensively, five clean sheets, they looked as if they couldn’t play again today. Stepping forward [sic.] when they don’t need to, always taking chances trying to play offside, and they’ve arguably got the quickest back four around. They just never looked as if they were going to win."

The former Real Madrid winger continued:

"...Forest were bottom of the league, showed more fight, Liverpool made chances, petered out, never looked as if they were going to win the game and it was exactly the same today. Made all kinds of substitutions, it didn’t matter..."

The Cherries ended the visitors' five-game run in the league without losing or conceding a goal.

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Jurgen Klopp gives verdict on Bournemouth's winner vs Liverpool

AFC Bournemouth's winner against Liverpool would have enraged the latter's fans. Dango Outtara played a low cross straight into Philip Billing's feet, who shot it past Alisson Becker.

The Burkinabe winger was allowed to get to the byline under no real pressure. Virgil van Dijk seemed to switch off midway through defending the cross, while left-back Andy Robertson seemed to have been caught on the wrong side.

The cross went just behind a hapless Ibrahima Konate, who slid to the ground in despair. Manager Jurgen Klopp claimed that the goal was probably defendable, but that he will have to reassess how it happened.

He said after the game (h/t Sportstar):

"I don’t know 100% anymore how the positioning was. I need to watch it back. In the end, a ball comes from the outside into the inside, and probably it should be defendable as well, but I have to watch it back."